Odds are that Stanford will soundly beat Washington State. It's a home game, the Cardinal are rested from the bye week, and the Cougars are still the Pac-10 whipping boys.

In the third year of coach Paul Wulff's rebuilding effort, the Cougars are practically junior-college age on defense. Fifteen of the 22 players on the two-deep defensive roster are either freshmen or sophomores.

Yet, Stanford knows from personal experience how a team that gets very little respect can rise and bite a heavy favorite on the road. USC was an even bigger favorite before Stanford's 2007 upset than the Cardinal are Saturday.

"They remind me of our team not too long ago," Stanford coach Jim Harbaughsaid of the Cougars.

Although WSU has lost 13 straight Pac-10 games, it has been competitive the last three weeks against UCLA, Oregon and Arizona. Sophomore quarterback Jeff Tuel's numbers are similar to those posted by previous Cougar stars Drew Bledsoeand Ryan Leaf in their sophomore seasons. Marquess Wilson, a slender 6-foot-3 receiver, is the top freshman in the country in receiving yards (92.3) and catches (5.0) per game.

The Cougars hung tough with UCLA until the fourth quarter and had 12 tackles-for-loss against Arizona last week.

"They play with a lot of energy and enthusiasm," Stanford quarterback Andrew Lucksaid. "I know they've really been down in the dumps as a program, but they don't give up. ... If you're not on top of (your game), they will expose you and they will embarrass you."

Perseverance: WSU doesn't have a formidable ground game, but leading rusher James Montgomerydeserves high praise for fortitude. The ex-Cal player has scored four touchdowns less than a year after nearly losing his left leg to acute compartment syndrome, a circulatory ailment.

Doctors took out a six-inch chunk of muscle just above his ankle. His football career appeared over, but he progressed well, even after microfracture surgery on his right knee in December.

This year he hasn't missed a start.

Briefly: Harbaugh said running back Tyler Gaffneymight be back this week; he missed the last two games with a leg injury. ... Luck's jarring hit on USC cornerback Shareece Wrightis up to 1.1 million hits on YouTube. "My younger sister told me about it," Luck said. "I've contributed one hit." ... Owen Marecic's two-touchdowns-in-13-seconds feat against Notre Dame has been surpassed by four players since 1996, according to Stats LLC. Roy Williamsof Texas did it in 10 seconds. The NCAA doesn't keep such records.